Label-affixing machine.



T. R. STOCKARD. LAB'EL AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, I915.

Patented J une 26, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l- ,T. R. STOCKARD.

LABEL AFFIXING MACHINE. APPLICATION men MAR. 9} 1915.

Patented June 26, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W W w m T. R. STOCKARD.

LABEL AFFIXING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9. I915.

Patented June 26, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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QM U gear for label cutting THOMAS E.

CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO IMPERIAL STOCKARD, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC,

TOBACCO COMPANY OF CANADA LIMITED.

LABEL-AFFIXING MACHINE.

To-all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS R. STOCKARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of Montreal, in the Province of uebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Label-Afiixing Machines, of which the tfollowing is a full, clear, and exact descrip- This invention relates to improvements in label afiixing machines, and the object of the invention is to provide a machine adapted to rapidly, securely and accurately aflix labels, revenue stamps or seals and the like to all manner of small packages, such as tobacco packages, cartons, or even bottles.

A further object is to provide a machine whlch may be readily adjusted according to the size of the package and the size of the label to be aflixed thereto.

Still another object is to provide a machine which may be readily arranged to operate in conjunction with other machines.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.

The device consists essentially of a frame carrying a table along which the packages to be stamped travel with intermittent movement, first coming in contact with the past ing mechanism and then with a seal or wrapper releasably held.

In the drawings which illustrate the invention, and throughout all the figures of which similar numerals refer to corresponding parts Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device.

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation.

Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal section.

Fig. 5 is an isolated detail of the driving mechanism.

Fig. 6 is an isolated detail of the driving mechanism for label placing mechanism.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged side elevation of the label placing mechanism.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan view of the pasting mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8, showing a slight modification.

Referring more particularly to the draw Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 26, 1916'.

Application filed March 9. 1915. Serial No. 13,116.

ings, 11 designates the frame of the machine carrying a table 12, to which the packages are fed by any suitable means such as the chute 13 and from which the packages discharge to any suitable device such as the chute or conveyer 14.

Power for operating the machine is supplied to the shaft 15 by any suitable means such as the belt pulley 16. A loose pulley 17 may be provided and also a belt shifter 18, so that the machine can be stopped and started at will.

The packages are fed along the table 12 by a plunger 19 which in the particular form shown in the drawings is designed to slide the packages singly out of the bottom of the chute. This plunger is carried and operated by a reciprocating slide 20 mounted under the table. The driving mechanism of this slide comprises an eccentric 21 having its strap 22 pivotally connected intermediate the ends of a lever 23, one end of which is pivotally connected to the frame 11 and the other end pivotally connected by means of a link 24 with the slide. At the point of connection between the eccentric strap and lever, the lever is slotted in order that the stroke of the slide may be regulated according to the size of the package handled.

asting mechanisms are mounted on the table adjacent the bottom of the chute or in other words, at the point of entrance of the package into the machine. These pasting mechanisms each comprise a hollow pivotally mounted carrier 25 having at its free end a paste roll 26 to which paste is supplied through the carrier from a reservoir 27. On the inside of the table, each carrier is provided with a roller bearing lever 28, the roller of which lies in the path of an adjustable cam member 29 carried by the slide 24. The levers are connected by a helical spring 26, which draws them together and holds the paste rolls against the sides of an advancing package until the cams 29 on the feed slide engage the levers 28 and throw the paste rolls 26 out of contact with the package when paste has been applied to a suflicient area for the attachment of the label. Spring 26' returns the rolls 26 into the path of the next package when the cams 29 have been retracted by the slide. It will be understood that the carrier 25 will be of any suitable shape, according to the shape of the package to be treated. By suitably forming the carrier and extending the cam 29, the device may be arranged to apply paste to the advancing end of a package as well as to the sides, if such is found necessary. Such an arrangement is shown 1n Fig. 9, in which the arm 25 carrying the paste roll is of such shape that under the influence of the cam, the paste roll moves n the direction of an advancing package and laterally thereof, so that the combined movements of the roll and package have the same effect as transverse movement of the roll in contact with a stationary package.

The label supplying mechanism is divided into two parts, namely, the feeding and cutting mechanism and the placing mechanism. The feeding and cutting mechanism comprises a table 30 on which the labels are provided in sheet or roll form and fed by rolls 31 and 32 to a cutting 0E knife 33. The lower roll 32 is provided on one end with a ratchet toothed wheel 34 operated by a ratchet lever 35. This lever is automatically driven from a cam 36 mounted on the shaft 15 by means of a lever 37 pivoted at one end to the frame and carrying intermediate its ends a roll 38 traveling on the cam. The opposite end of the lever is connected to the ratchet lever by a link 39, the ends of both levers being slotted to enable a considerable variation of the label feed at each revolution of the cam. 4 The label sheet is pressed down on the feed roll 32 by the idler roll 31, mounted on a spring loaded arm 40 carried by the casing.

The cam 36 is provided on its inner face with a groove 41 in which a roller or pin 42 travels. This pin is on an arm 43, one end of which is bifurcated to embrace the shaft 15 for purposes of support and the other end of which is connected by links 44 with the knife 33. This knife works against a counter 45 secured at the front edge of the table 30. As will bemlearly seen in Fig. 4, the groove 41 is circularly curved and concentric with the shaft 15 for the greater part of its length, so that the knife will remain stationary and elevated during a greater part of each cycle of operation, and will then descend to sever a label from the sheet, and rise quickly to its normal posi tion, as will be clearly seen. This movement occurs after the cam 36 has passed under the roller 38 and operated the label feeding mechanism, so that the fed out portion of the label is severed.

Operating in conjunction with the label feeding and cutting mechanism is a label placing mechanism, which consists primarily of a pair of pivoted arms or pickers adapted to swing up, grasp the label, and then descend, carrying the label into the path of the advancing package. These arms or pickers each comprise a grooved member 46 rigidly mounted at one end on a trunnion 47 and having at the opposite end an inturned finger 48. The two members are connected across the machine by a rod 49 offset from the trunnions 47 so as to give clearance for packages advancing along the table. Each member carries in the groove thereof a slide 50 having an inturned finger 51 cooperating with the inturned finger 48 to grasp and releasably hold a severed label. Each picker slide carries an outwardly'projecting .pin 52 adapted to engage a pivoted cam 53 on the upward movement of the picker. This cam 53 is so positioned, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, that it forces the slide out and separates the fingers 51 and 48, the finger 48 passing under the label and the finger 51 over the label. At the end of the up stroke, the pin 52 slips over the upper end of the cam 53, and on the return passes .under the cam, lifting the same to the position shown in dotted lines. Stops 54 are provided, limiting the movement of this cam. The cams separate as just described, and substantially at the moment that the label is severed, the fingers 51 fall down by gravity on the fingers 48 andgrasp the severed label, the passage of the picker slide pins 52 under the cams 53 serving to close the fingers 51 on the fingers 48. The pickers return to normal position and carry with them the severed label, placing the same in the path of a package advancing along the table. The pickers are operated from a cam 55 mounted on the shaft 15 through the medium of a lever 56, mounted at one end on the frame and connected at its opposite end by means of a link 57 with an arm 58 mounted on one of the picker trunnions. A roller 59 is mounted on the lever 56 and travels on the cam 55. A spring 60 may be provided to return the pickers to normal position.

On each side of ably mounted presser rolls 61 are provide on the table, which operate to press the label the package path, yieldtightly to the pasted surface of the packagei A guide 62 is provided above the table to hold the packages down in position.

The feed roll 32 and shaft 15 are each provided with a hand wheel 63, by means of which the machine may be manually operated to set or adjust the same when any change is made in the size of label or package.

The operation of the machine may be briefly summed up as follows: A package is labeling mechanism,

advanced along the table by the plunger 19 and forced between the pasting rolls 26, which apply paste to a predetermined portion thereof, and are then lifted out of engagement with the package. The package then engages a label loosely held by the pick ers and as the package advances between the pickers, the label becomes naturally bent around the end of the package. Immediately, engagement between the presser rolls G1 forces the label tightly against the package where it is held by the wet paste. The plunger then retreats for a second package. The pickers rise and grasp a previously fed label which is severed from the sheet practically simultaneously with its grasping by the pickers, and this label is carried down by the pickers into the path of the next package. Each succeeding package pushes those in advance one step farther through the machine, the halt in movement preferably occurring when the package is between the presser rolls, so that the label is held tightly against the package for an appreciable time to give the paste opportunity to set and prevent curling of the wet label.

As previously stated, this machine may be arranged to operate in conjunction with other machines, for example, package filling machines from which it receives the. package, and package bundlin or further package labeling machine to which-it discharges. The precise nature of the package feed to the machine will of course depend upon the machines with which it operates and other consideration.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 1s 1. In a labeling machine, a package feeding plunger, a pasting mechanism arranged in the path of the package, a plunger operating slide, a labeling mechanism and cams carried by the slide arranged to shift the pasting mechanism out of the path of the package when a predetermined area ofthe package is pasted.

2. In a labeling machine, upper and lower tables, a drive shaft, package feeding and pasting mechanism on the lower table, a

label feeding mechanism on the upper table, a driving cam therefor on said shaft, a label cutting knife, a link pivotally connected at one end to said lever and bifurcated at its opposite end, and embracing the shaft, achannel formed in said cam having an eccentric portion thereof disposed on the opposite side of the shaft from the eccentric portion of the cam, and a pin on said link engaging in the channel.

3. In a labeling machine, upper and lower tables, package feeding and pasting mechanism on the lower table, label feeding mechanism on the upper table, and oscillating upper table to the lower table in the path of the packages, including separable label gripping fingers, and means for separating said fingers to embrace the label.

4. In a labeling machine, means for feeding packages, and means for placing labels in the path of said packages including a pair of oscillating arms each having a finger, a slide mounted on each arm having a finger cooperating with the arm finger, a pin on each of said slides, a cam in the path of each pin arranged to alternately separate the fingers to embrace a label and close the fingers to grip said label. 9.

5. In a labeling machine, package feeding, pasting and labeling mechanism, means for positioning labels in the path of sald packages including relatively movable fingers arranged in pairs, and a tiltable cam arranged to separate the fingers during movement thereof in one direction and to close the fingers during movement thereof in the reverse direction.

6. In a labeling machine, package feeding, pasting and labeling mechanism, means for positioning labels in the path of said package comprising a pair of oscillating pickers each having an integral finger and a movable finger, a pin on the movable finger, a cam plate in the path of said pm oscillatable within limits and arranged to separate the fingers during movement of the picker in one direction and to close the fingers during movement of the picker in the reverse direction.

7. In a labeling machine, a framework, a slide traveling therein, a hollow arm pivoted at one end, a paste reservoir communicating with the interior of said arm, a paste roller mounted at the free end of said arm, a cam on the slide, and means carried by said hollow arm adapted in connection with said cam to move the paste roller into and out of engagement with the packages to be labeled.

8. In a labeling machine, a package feeding mechanism, a plurality of movable paste applying devices, and means actuated by the package feeding mechanism for moving said paste applying devices laterally of the direction of package movement and in such proportion to the rate of package advance that the advancing end of a package will be pasted.

9. In a labeling machine, a package feeding mechanism, a plurality of movable paste applying devices, and means for successively moving said pasting mechanisms laterally of the direction of package movement and holding the same stationary, whereby the advancing edge and portions of the sides of a package will be pasted.

10. In a labeling mechine, a package feed of said package, and rollers arranged to 10 ing mechanism, a plurallty of movable press a label against the sides and advancing paste applying devices, and means for sucend of a package.

cessively moving said pasting mechanisms In witness whereof, I have hereunto set laterally of the direction of package movemy hand, in the presence of two witnesses. ment and holding the same stationary, THOMAS-R. STOCKARD. whereby the advancing edge and portions Witnesses: of the sides of a package will be pasted, and S. R. W. ALLEN,

means releasably holding a label in the path G. M. MORELAND. 

